“You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.” – Swami Vivekananda

How many times do you pause in the middle of something and question your abilities? How often do you hesitate to pursue a goal because you think you’re not capable or not just good enough?

At one time or another, you have doubted yourself – perhaps too many times. You have doubted your decisions; you have doubted if you are successful, or will ever be successful. And there have been times when you feel inadequate and overwhelmed.

You’ve held onto crappy jobs and stayed in abusive relationships because you felt that you couldn’t do any better. And worse, you sometimes think you’ve got all these coming and you don’t deserve better.

STOP, stop doing this to yourself. If you are plagued by self-doubt, here are five things you can do to conquer it and believe in yourself again.

1. Love yourself. Accept that you made mistakes and guess what? So did the rest of humanity! Nobody is perfect. Nurture the person you are.
2. Bond with others. Strengthen your connection with your support group – friends and family.

3. Do not compare yourself with others. The poem Desiderata says this – “If you compare yourself with others, you will become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.”

4. Keep calm, take a break. Self-doubt is your worst enemy and is a stumbling block to your pursuits. So when you feel overwhelmed, engage in activities that give you pleasure such as listening to your favorite music, painting, or travelling. This way, you take stock of what you have and not what you don’t have which puts things into a better perspective.

5. Keep moving forward. The surest way to overcome self-doubt is to fight it. Act on your goals despite thinking that you’re not worthy. And act on your dreams, even if you feel the whole world is against you.